Talking about your research

Introduction

  • Very important skill
    • Talk every chance you get
  • Way outside my comfort zone
    • Rely on advice from the experts

Ben Stein movie scene

YouTube video clip of Ben Stein

“How to Give a Great Talk” Nic Fleming, Nature 2018 (1/6)

First page of Fleming article

“How to Give a Great Talk” Nic Fleming, Nature 2018 (2/6)

  • Use vivid words to paint a picture
    • delightful
    • disturbing
    • puzzling

“How to Give a Great Talk” Nic Fleming, Nature 2018 (3/6)

  • Use vocal variety
    • Volume
    • Pitch
    • Tone

“How to Give a Great Talk” Nic Fleming, Nature 2018 (4/6)

  • Insert small pauses
    • Gets your audience to think
    • Create emphasis
    • Allows your message to sink in.
    • Creates tension

“How to Give a Great Talk” Nic Fleming, Nature 2018 (5/6)

  • Rehearse
    • Prepare, practice, and perfect.
    • Get feedback
    • Practice in an environment similar to your talk

“How to Give a Great Talk” Nic Fleming, Nature 2018 (6/6)

  • Ensure you are within the time limit
    • Plan on fixed amount of time per slide
      • This gives a rough estimate on your slide count.
    • Time every rehearsal
      • Cut relentlessly, if needed
      • Develop a rhythm to help with timing
    • Give yourself a margin of error

Preparing your slides

  • Variety of programs
    • Microsoft PowerPoint
    • Adobe pdf
    • Apple Keynote
    • Prezi
    • reveal.js

“Points of View. PowerPoint in the Classroom” (1/5)

First page of PowerPoint article

“Points of View. PowerPoint in the Classroom” (2/5)

Example of a bad PowerPoint slide

“Points of View. PowerPoint in the Classroom” (3/5)

Speaker notes view from PowerPoint

“Points of View. PowerPoint in the Classroom” (4/5)

  • PowerPointlessness
    • Transitions, sounds, other special effects
    • Distract the viewer from your main message
    • Distract you from more important elements

“Points of View. PowerPoint in the Classroom” (5/5)

  • PowerPoint Master Slide
    • Template to insure consistent appearance
    • Allows branding.

UMKC templates (1/7)

UMKC PowerPoint template

UMKC templates (2/7)

UMKC PowerPoint template

UMKC templates (3/7)

UMKC PowerPoint template

UMKC templates (4/7)

UMKC PowerPoint template

UMKC templates (5/7)

UMKC PowerPoint template

UMKC templates (6/7)

UMKC PowerPoint template

UMKC templates (7/7)

UMKC PowerPoint template

Do you really need slides? (1/4)

Front cover of The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint

Do you really need slides? (2/4)

First page of Peter Norvig’s PowerPoint satire

Do you really need slides? (3/4)

Second slide from Peter Norvig’s PowerPoint satire

Do you really need slides? (4/4)

  • Two alternatives to slides
    • Stand in front of your audience and talk
    • Use a handout
  • Counterpoint: why I am using slides today
    • My customers demand PowerPoint
    • Needed for remote presentation
    • Slides serve to show structure

Conclusion

  • Use vocal variety
  • Rehearse
  • Stay within your time limits